Review: “Fearless” by Eighth Wonder (Vinyl, 1988)

Today’s Pop Rescue from an uncertain future, is the 1988 album Fearless by the group Eighth Wonder. Will this album leave you Fearless of all others, or will you Wonder why you bought it? Read on…

Eighth Wonder - Fearless (1988) album. — Eighth Wonder – Fearless (1988) album.

A delicate synth opens Side One of this 10 track LP with Cross My Heart – the album’s fourth single. This is 100% pop from the outset, with singer (later actress) Patsy Kensit on the microphone. She delivers the vocals perfectly – they’re soft, often higher-pitched and pretty much perfect for this loved-up cheerful ’80s pop song. I could easily imagine Sinitta singing this song, and that’s perhaps due to the influence of producer Pete Hammond (in his first of five track credits) but Patsy does a great job and it makes for a nice start to the album. The track reached #13 in the UK singles chart.

Next up is second single When The Phone Stops Ringing, and the vocals in this mid-tempo pop-rock track reminds me a bit of Deborah Harry from Blondie. Electric guitars growl gently in the background over a simple beat. A thumping beat and wash of synths sound great in the mid-section before the guitars return towards the end. It’s harder than the previous song, but it’s a nice variance. The track also has pop royalty within its songwriter credits – Bernie Taupin, in what feels like a rare appearance without Elton John. However, this wasn’t enough to tempt the singles-buying public, and it fell outside the top 100 singles.

Then it’s fifth and final single Baby Baby, and this bursts open in a wash of drum fills and synth brass. Patsy returns to her higher sugary pop vocals here, and this works well for the song. Patsy does get to show off her vocal range and harmonies here, as well as her rapping, but it wasn’t enough to convince the singles-buying UK public, who awarded it a paltry #65 in the UK singles chart.

Lead single Will You Remember is next, and whilst this track is a nice gentle pop song, it’s unlikely that you Will Remember, as sadly this lead single stumbled at #83 in the UK singles chart. That aside, it’s a solid song although Patsy’s vocals are a little bit buried at times, beneath the synths.

Side One closes with ‘tell me you’re feeling this wild love’ vocal line of er… Wild Love. Here, we get a nice percussion and bass-led track. Patsy’s vocals return to their higher register and she delivers this track with seemingly great ease.

Side Two opens with third single I’m Not Scared written by the Pet Shop Boys. They’re even here on producer credits, alongside S/A/W producer Phil Harding, and you can hear them instantly in the synths which remain pretty loyal to the version they go on to include on their later-1988 album Introspective. Sadly, Patsy’s vocals don’t quite cut through like Neil Tennant’s did, but it’s an admirable feat having got their first.

Use Me is next, and we’re plunged into an up-beat pop song that’s reminiscent of old Motown tracks in the riffs, playful lyrics, and tempo. Patsy seems to be having fun here, and she sounds good with it. This bouncy pop song was a single in Japan.

Then it’s Anything At All. This is a lovestruck minimal song, with lots of soft and breathy vocals although they aren’t the most interesting here. They’re set against a simple beat with guitars, which even get a nice solo at the mid-section. It’s a bit of a filler.

That leads on to My Baby’s Heartbeat, which makes me think of a cross between Heart by Pet Shop Boys and a 60’s male quartet in the intro, then a beat and bass drop in, alongside Patsy’s little vocals. It’s a simple sounding song (perhaps echoing the song’s title) with a further synth dropping into the mix as it builds – helping to keep the interest in the song. It’s nice enough.

The album closes with the dramatic beats and wandering guitar notes of The Dress. Here Patsy seems to get some more gutsy vocals to deliver, and she gets to show off her vocal power somewhat too. The track builds nicely with vocal harmonies too, and results in a fairly nice and catchy pop-rock song.

Eighth Wonder’s lead single ‘Will You Remember’ (1988).

Verdict

Over all, this album is a pretty much overlooked solid 80’s pop album crafted by some of pop music’s greats.

The highlights are clearly led by Cross My Heart which teems with energy and catchiness, but other high points include the Japanese single Use Me and closing track The Dress. The tracks here are mostly well written and the injection of Pete Hammond and Phil Harding deserves to have made more of an impact on the charts.

However, at times Patsy’s vocals are too soft and she gets lost in the mix or misses an opportunity to show off, and a few of the songs don’t seem to have a destination to flow towards. The lowest points come in the form of Anything At All and My Baby’s Heartbeat, which seem to try hard but ultimately just meander to nowhere.

Give it a spin, if only for Cross My Heart and the original of I’m Not Scared.